Apples to Apples: MacBook Air vs. New Retina MacBook Pro

Does the latest update to the MacBook Pro leave you confused about which MacBook to buy? We compare the newest, 13-inch MacBook Pro against the current MacBook Air to help you decide.

0shares

Apple just dropped a bunch of new products, with a sprawling event that covered everything from iPads to software to a funky round desktop. But for a lot of shoppers, the biggest announcement was the new Haswell- and Retina-equipped MacBook Pro laptops.

MacBook Pro
The most affordable of the newly announced MacBook Pro laptops is the Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch with Retina display (2013). With a starting price of $1,299, it's the most affordable of Apple's current MacBook Pro lineup, but is still pricier than anything most people would classify as budget-friendly.

At 13 inches and 3.46 pounds, the MacBook Pro is pretty light and compact; and with a thickness of only 0.71-inch it's in ultraportable territory. Despite the slim build, the MacBook Pro still packs a wallop thanks to all new hardware.

The MacBook Pro features an as-yet unnamed fourth-generation Intel Core i5 processor, a dual-core CPU utilizing Intel's Haswell architecture. This paired with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of flash memory. Unlike the solid-state drives (SSDs) found in other laptops and ultrabooks, Apple uses memory soldered straight onto the motherboard instead of a modular drive, shaving off a few millimeters of thickness and allowing them to tweak the size and layout of the "drive." Unfortunately, this also makes the MacBook Pro one of the most difficult in the industry to upgrade or repair. If you were checking out the MacBook Pro in hopes of having more upgradability than a slim MacBook Air, you're out of luck.

The Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch has several features that the MacBook Air can't match. Chief among these premium features is the 13.3-inch Retina display, with its higher-than-HD native resolution of 2,560 by 1,600. The new laptop also gets the newest iteration of Thunderbolt, doubling the transfer speed to become Thunderbolt 2. If you've invested in Thunderbolt-capable storage or monitors, then you will be able to get more out your accessories with the MacBook Pro, but if you're working with USB 3.0, the two systems are pretty much identical. What you won't see on the new MacBook Pro (or the MacBook Air, for that matter) is an optical drive. As far as Apple is concerned, it's now legacy hardware that doesn't have a place on current systems.

The MacBook Pro does come with OS X Mavericks preinstalled, but with Apple's one-step upgrade, there's very little keeping you from having the new operating system on your MacBook Air. What the MacBook Pro does offer that an existing MacBook Air does not are the newest apps. All new Macs will now come with all of the iLife (including iPhoto, iMovie, and GarageBand) and iWork (including Pages, Numbers, and Keynote) apps for free.

MacBook Air
The 13-inch MacBook Air has always had two major draws over the more powerful MacBook Pro: Portability and Pricing. The 13-inch MacBook Air may feature a similar 13.3-inch display and footprint as the MacBook Pro, but at 0.68-inch thick and tapering down to a vanishingly thin 0.11-inch edge, the MacBook Air is still one of the slimmest ultraportables on the market. At 2.38 pounds, it's also more than a pound lighter, and that pound difference is very noticeable after carrying around your laptop all day. For the user on the go, it's still one of the most portable laptops out there.

It's also got the MacBook Pro beat on battery life. Where Apple estimates the MacBook pro as having up to 9 hours battery life, the MacBook Air is rated for 12 hours, and our own testing pegs it at 15:33. That sort of on-the-go battery life makes a huge difference in terms of real portability, letting you truly go all day without having to find an outlet or bring along a charger.

The other big differentiator is price, though with Apple dropping the price of the MacBook Pro down to $1,299 for the base model, it's a narrower gap than in the past. That said, the 13-inch MacBook Air starts at $1,099, so there's still a draw for the budget-minded, though the 11-inch model sells for an even more affordable $999.

Deciding Between the Two
While price is definitely a deciding factor, the difference between the $1,299 MacBook Pro and the $1,099 MacBook Air really comes down to portability and performance. The Apple MacBook Air is still the most travel-friendly laptop Apple makes, with hours longer battery life and a thinner, lighter design. If portability is a priority, the MacBook Air 13-inch wins hands down.

The trade off, of course, is in performance. The Apple MacBook Pro has a more powerful 2.4GHz dual-core processor, complemented by Intel's Iris Graphics, and shown in all its glory with a high-resolution Retina display. The MacBook Air can't match that with its ultra-low voltage 1.3GHz Core i5, and while there may yet be a Retina-equipped MacBook Air in the future, right now, there's no question which is the better display. If performance and display quality matter, the MacBook Pro 13-inch with Retina display is the easy choice.

Brian Westover is an Analyst for the Hardware Team, reviewing laptops, desktops, and storage devices.
As a child, Brian was frequently asked "What do you want to be when you grow up?" His answer alternated between Superman and Batman. This was cute when he was five, but worrisome at seventeen. Naturally, he is now a journalist, writing about technology and gadgets.
Brian has been writing professionally since 2007, and his work has appeared in business newsletters, websites, textbooks, and magazines. He earned his degree in Communications from...
More »

Automatic Renewal Program: Your subscription will continue without interruption for as long as you wish, unless
you instruct us otherwise. Your subscription will automatically renew at the end of the term unless you authorize
cancellation. Each year, you'll receive a notice and you authorize that your credit/debit card will be charged the
annual subscription rate(s). You may cancel at any time during your subscription and receive a full refund on all
unsent issues. If your credit/debit card or other billing method can not be charged, we will bill you directly instead. Contact Customer Service

//our current issue

Select Term:

24 issues for $29.99 ONLY $1.25 an issue! Lock in Your Savings!

12 issues for $19.99ONLY $1.67 an issue!

State

Country

This transaction is secure

Automatic Renewal Program: Your subscription will continue without interruption for as long as you wish, unless
you instruct us otherwise. Your subscription will automatically renew at the end of the term unless you authorize
cancellation. Each year, you'll receive a notice and you authorize that your credit/debit card will be charged the
annual subscription rate(s). You may cancel at any time during your subscription and receive a full refund on all
unsent issues. If your credit/debit card or other billing method can not be charged, we will bill you directly instead. Contact Customer Service